The Stablecoin Market Map

Fiat Ventures
Nov 3
8 min read

Driving Real World Adoption in Cross-border Finance

Note: This market map shows key companies and infrastructure providers in the stablecoin ecosystem. It is not intended to be exhaustive of companies in the space and categories are not mutually exclusive.

Stablecoins, once a niche concept tethered to the fringes of cryptocurrency markets, have rapidly emerged as a mainstream force in global finance. In October 2025, stablecoin supply averaged $250 billion, while total volume stands just above $5 trillion as of August 2025. These digital currencies are designed to maintain stable value by pegging to an asset like fiat currency, providing the programmable speed and borderless nature of crypto with the reliability of traditional money. In 2025, institutional investors and global fintechs are betting that stablecoins will shape the future of finance, not just as trading rails but as foundational tools for payments, treasury management, and cross-border commerce.

What exactly is a stablecoin? It’s a digital currency whose value is tied 1:1 to a stable asset - most often the US Dollar or Euro. Early stablecoins like Tether (USDT) and Circle (USDC) began as tools for mitigating volatility, then quickly evolved into mainstream payment rails, e-commerce, trade settlement, and global payroll. Major regulatory strides – including Europe’s MICA and The Genius Act by the US – have set the stage for mass adoption, pulling in giants like PayPal, Stripe, and Visa. Now, wallets, DeFi, and merchant payments have fueled rapid expansion and stablecoins have become foundational financial infrastructure, now outpacing some legacy rails for speed and scale.

Market Map: Nine Segments Powering the Stablecoin Ecosystem

To capture the scale and innovation driving stablecoins and crypto payment platforms, we’ve constructed a market map highlighting startups and infrastructure players across nine foundational categories. Each segment reflects distinct functions and emerging use cases within digital payments, treasury, and cross-border money movement.

1. Stablecoin Issuers

A stablecoin issuer is a regulated entity or company responsible for creating, managing, redeeming, and maintaining the supply of stablecoins – digital assets that are designed to hold a stable value by pegging 1:1 to a reference asset such as the US dollar or Euro. These issuers guarantee the value of their stablecoin by backing each token with reserves in cash, government securities, or other liquid assets, and by providing redemption mechanisms so users can always convert the digital tokens back into fiat currency.

Stablecoin issuers are the backbone of the ecosystem – companies that mint and redeem tokens like Circle’s USDC, which in October 2025 reached $75.9 billion in market cap and processed $5.9 trillion in on-chain settlements in Q2 2025. In October 2025, Tether (USDT) led the industry with $183 billion in circulating supply and daily transaction volumes rivaling global card networks, driving $15 billion in annual profit.

2. Exchanges / On–Off Ramps

Exchanges and on-off ramps form the connective infrastructure between the traditional financial system and digital assets, enabling users and businesses to buy, sell, and convert stablecoins and cryptocurrencies with local fiat currencies around the world. These platforms serve as access points for both on-chain and off-chain economies by supporting fiat-to-crypto and crypto-to-fiat transactions, providing liquidity, securing customer assets, and offering integrations with payment systems, wallets, and compliance mechanisms. Exchanges operate 24/7, facilitate global value transfer, and power key functions for trading, settlement, and remittance, all while supporting regulatory compliance and customer security.

Exchanges like Coinbase and Bitso provide the bridge between stablecoins and local currencies, processing $439 billion in trading volume in 2024 while enabling on-ramp access for global users. Platforms such as MoonPay extend this reach, offering stablecoin purchases and settlements in over 180 countries, and supporting commercial use cases from small consumer transactions to large cross-border settlements.

3. B2B Payments

B2B payments refer to digital platforms and APIs enabling businesses to instantly settle invoices, supplier payments, payroll, and contractor disbursements across borders using stablecoins and on-chain rails.

For example, Walapay is a modern, programmable global money movement and treasury platform built for platforms, PSPs, and fintechs, orchestrating compliant payouts and collections across 178+ countries and 40+ currencies – including stablecoins, local rails, and digital wallets. Through a unified API and dashboard, Walapay lets businesses automate payroll, supplier payments, and collect funds in fiat or stablecoins, with features for KYC, compliance automation, instant yield on idle balances, and full payment traceability. The platform is designed to reduce costs, enable new revenue streams, and bring real-time global liquidity and transparency to every business that needs to move money internationally.

4. Cross-Border Payments

Cross-border payment platforms leverage stablecoins to offer instant, affordable international transfers, remittances, and payouts - especially benefiting migrants, remote workers, and businesses in emerging markets.

For example, Meru enables users in Latin America to hold USDC and access high-yield savings tools that protect their wealth against inflation, local currency volatility, and banking restrictions. By allowing dollar-based remittances and savings, Meru serves as an essential financial lifeline for underserved users and has helped thousands - and soon millions - of consumers move toward more financial security.

AirTM is a trusted wallet for digital dollars and cross-currency payouts in Latin America, processing $1.2 billion in transaction volume in 2024 and is used by 2.5 million users. AirTM connects freelancers, gig workers, and migrant families to efficient digital dollar rails, transforming the region's remittance dynamics.

Decaf provides a non-custodial wallet for seamless cross-border payments, particularly in volatile economies across Latin America. Decaf’s unique integration with Stellar and Solana lets users send USDC or local currency and instantly cash out at thousands of retail locations – including bank accounts and cash-out agents – offering real-time digital and physical money movement. The platform supports over 180+ local currencies and enables users to convert stablecoins into local fiat, protecting them from inflation and simplifying family remittances and everyday transactions.

5. Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Platforms

Peer-to-peer (P2P) stablecoin platforms provide individuals with a borderless, direct way to send, receive, and store digital dollars and other stablecoins – empowering users to bypass traditional banks, avoid wire fees, and access financial services regardless of location or local currency volatility. These platforms deliver near-instant payments, enable self-custody, and reduce costs for remittances, micro-savings, community rewards, and daily spending, especially in markets where access to reliable banking or USD accounts is limited.

For example, Beans is a fully non-custodial digital wallet and payments platform that empowers users in Africa and emerging markets to send, receive, and hold stablecoins and cryptocurrencies with complete control over their funds. Users can earn competitive yields on their USD or crypto balances – up to 10% – and seamlessly swap between stablecoins, local fiat, and popular cryptocurrencies, making Beans both a secure savings tool and a frictionless international payments rail.

Similarly, Payqin is a pan-African fintech platform that offers multi-currency stablecoin wallets and virtual cards to users across Africa and the MENA region, enabling instant USD, EUR, or GBP payments to merchants, friends, and family with KYC and regulatory compliance. By bringing dollarized accounts and global payment rails to local markets, Payqin helps solve inflation, remittance costs, and access to international commerce for millions of unbanked or underbanked consumers.

6. Merchant Payments Infrastructure

Merchant payment platforms are specialized APIs, processors, and infrastructure providers that enable businesses and retailers to accept stablecoins and digital assets at physical points of sale and online checkouts. They automate settlement, reporting, and compliance, allow merchants to access global customers without relying solely on credit card networks, and help reduce payment processor fees through instant, low-cost stablecoin rails. Use cases range from e-commerce payments to cross-border retail remittance, unlocking new business models, customer reach, and cost-saving opportunities for sellers everywhere.

Merchant payment processors such as Stripe handled $1.4 trillion in payment volume in 2024 and topped $96.6 million in stablecoin settlements, driven by merchants seeking lower fees and instant global settlement.

Providers like Rain and Mesh help retailers tap into global stablecoin commerce. Notably, Rain is a modular stablecoin payments platform that lets merchants, marketplaces, and fintechs accept stablecoins, automate payouts in local fiat or USD, and integrate directly with e-commerce and POS systems, while handling wallet management, on/off ramps, and global regulatory compliance. Rain also enables merchants to issue their own cards, automate payroll, and manage tokenized receivables and compliance in a single platform, driving global expansion and simplifying digital commerce.

7. Wallets & Custodians

Wallets and custodians are digital platforms and service providers that securely store, manage, and enable the transfer of digital assets – including stablecoins – across multiple blockchains for both individuals and enterprises. These solutions bridge the gap between traditional finance and the crypto economy by offering private key management, multi-sig security, regulatory compliance, and fiat on/off-ramps – all critical features for the safe adoption of stablecoin payments, savings, and investments at scale. The global crypto wallet market is projected to grow from $12.6 billion in 2024 to $15.5 billion in 2025, with forecasts reaching $153 billion by 2033 – a 750% surge over eight years and a 31% annual growth rate, far outpacing the broader crypto market.

Institutional and retail wallets such as Fireblocks (securing millions in assets for banks and fintechs), Nexo (offering high-yield, multi-chain savings accounts for consumers), and Juno (which blends a digital checking account with stablecoin and crypto support for the US market) provide flexible management and user-friendly interfaces needed to power global stablecoin adoption.

8. Treasury & Liquidity Management

Treasury and liquidity platforms are software solutions that enable businesses to automate global cash management, foreign exchange (FX), and deployment of idle funds using stablecoins and on-chain financial protocols.

These tools allow for instant, programmable settlements, real-time yield generation, hedging of currency risk, and seamless reconciliation – unifying DeFi and enterprise finance while unlocking a new generation of treasury operating models. For example, automated stablecoin treasury tools, such as programmable yield and FX hedging, have reduced corporate cross-border transfer times from several days to less than a few hours.

Treasury tools like Flowdesk, Meow, and Tres Finance enable corporates and crypto-native organizations to manage stablecoin balances, automate FX and treasury workflows, and tap on-chain yields within a single compliant platform, improving corporate liquidity and cross-border efficiency.

9. Cross-Chain Infrastructure

Cross-chain infrastructure refers to protocols, bridges, and interoperability layers that let blockchains communicate, share data, and move assets seamlessly across otherwise siloed networks. These tools underpin the “composability” of Web3, enabling payments, asset swaps, and application logic to function across dozens of chains – breaking down barriers and fostering a unified blockchain ecosystem.

Protocols like Chainlink handle stablecoin bridging each year, powering seamless cross-chain payments and DeFi applications for both retail and institutional users, while bridge infrastructure now supports daily volumes exceeding $300 million as more users move funds and liquidity between Ethereum, Solana, and many other chains.

The Future of Stablecoins

Stablecoin market capitalization has ballooned from $28 billion in 2020 to $282 billion by Q4 2025 and may reach $500–750 billion in the coming years or even $2 trillion by 2028 as regulatory clarity, institutional adoption, and real-world rails accelerate mainstream use. Annual stablecoin transaction volumes rose 83% between July 2024 and July 2025 to reach over $4 trillion in total with annual on-chain settlements now rivaling legacy card networks for certain corridors.

With over 130+ countries now piloting digital currency frameworks and stablecoin rails adopted by millions for daily remittances, savings, and commerce, most observers now expect stablecoins to form the backbone of tomorrow’s global financial system.

This article was produced with insights from Anisha Kothapa, whose work spans market research, venture capital, consulting, and strategic partnerships in fintech. Driven by a passion for financial inclusion and innovation, Anisha works closely with founders, investors, and industry leaders shaping the future of fintech. Explore more of her research, articles, and commentary on trends in fintech via her LinkedIn page.